Wow, No Thank You

By Samantha Irby

Random House     2020

311 pages     Humor/Essays

Discovering Samantha Irby is like being transported to humor heaven. Filled with zingy one-liners about all facets of life, Irby is in rare form in Wow, No Thank You. The essays in the book cover an enormous number of topics, from Crone’s disease, to marrying a woman with children, to house repair, to being an introvert,  to urination and poop. Nothing is taboo to Irby, and everything in life can be a source of humor.

The other day, my sister said to me, “You laugh inappropriately, you know!” Well, I have to tell you I did a lot of inappropriate laughing while reading Wow, No Thank You. Frankly, my favorite people are those who don’t take themselves too seriously, and if there is one thing that can be said about Samantha Irby is that she doesn’t take herself too seriously.

My favorite essay concerns her move to Kalamazoo. Wait??? Kalamazoo??? I live in Kalamazoo. How did I not know about her? Then, as I looked closer, she started to look familiar to me. Had I actually met her sometime? She describes herself as a “middle-aged depressed lady with chronic diarrhea.” Well, many of my friends are middle-aged depressed ladies with chronic diarrhea. Finally, when I watched an interview on You Tube, I realized that while I hadn’t met her, I instantly identified with her work and her views on life. On the other hand, I think that I may have met her wife, who is a Kalamazoo school social worker and works part time at our neighborhood bookstore, Book Bug. Actually, the book launch was supposed to happen at the Book Bug this week. By the way, you can buy an autographed copy of Wow, No Thank You at This is a Bookstore, which is part of the Book Bug.  Kalamazoo friends, run, don’t walk, over there. Grab a copy before they are gone. They will curbside deliver it to you.

One of her favorite topics is her introversion. She says that she used to party a lot. “The only reason I stopped is because I got too old to do it right.” Being an introvert has become her theme for the interviews that have come since the book was released on Tuesday of this week. Because of Covid-19, she hasn’t been able to do any book launch events. Therefore, there are many, many online interviews. Here are a couple of interviews that I found especially pleasing: a written interview and a video interview.

When asked about how she was surviving being housebound for the past few weeks, Irby mentioned  that she is the master of social distancing, so being stuck at home was not a problem for her. What being housebound offered for me was the opportunity to revel in Irby’s crazy humor, quirky thinking, and downright gross musings. Would that I had the kind of verbal guts Samantha Irby has! You gotta love her! The New York Times reviewer absolutely adores her writing.

Irby says that she has had trouble making friends in Kalamazoo. Samantha, I want to be your friend. Find me on Facebook.